All-Star Crossovers And Sandbagging

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I've noticed that, too. The worst culprits in my experience are those 7th and 8th graders who don't think about the fact that there are 3rd and 4th graders around.

YES.

Especially the ones who just figured out what Beyonce meant when she said "surfboardt" and could not wait to tell everyone!

 

[GreatWhite92]

I've noticed that, too. The worst culprits in my experience are those 7th and 8th graders who don't think about the fact that there are 3rd and 4th graders around.

Yes! I teach middle schoolers and they have the WORST mouths! I guess it's because it's rebellious and cool to use foul language and talk about risqué topics at that age. Once you hit high school no one cares any more.


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[mecheermom]

Yes! I teach middle schoolers and they have the WORST mouths! I guess it's because it's rebellious and cool to use foul language and talk about risqué topics at that age. Once you hit high school no one cares any more.


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Definitely! When CP was 8 and on a Junior team, the 12-13 yo were worse than the 14-15 yo.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Yes! I teach middle schoolers and they have the WORST mouths! I guess it's because it's rebellious and cool to use foul language and talk about risqué topics at that age. Once you hit high school no one cares any more.


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Yes. I'm at a HS. By the time you get to 9th grade, if you're still doing a ton of unnecessary swearing in front of teachers and getting in trouble for it, kids are starting to give you the side-eye.

 

[crazzyeyesassypants]

YES.

Especially the ones who just figured out what Beyonce meant when she said "surfboardt" and could not wait to tell everyone!

lol, I had to look than term up since we aren't Beyoncé fans. [emoji15][emoji15] My cp's jr team is pretty good all the girls are around the same age, 12-14 and we have one nugget that's 8. They are all aware that she is younger than them.


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[cheernerd5678]

Hopefully parents are actually parenting and have had talks with their kids about what's appropriate and what isn't rather than just trying to shield them from anything in appropriate.

not directed at you in particular, but towards everyone who thinks they know exactly what age group should be with which age group and that somehow that's a job of the USASF and not a kid's own parents:

Appropriateness at age levels is so varying based on experience of individuals and maturity of individuals. it's not black and white. there is no formula that once a kid is in high school they can suddenly now be "exposed" to certain concepts. parents should be parenting...which is an ever-evolving INVOLVED practice. not a set of "no, you're too young to see X" rules that someone else has to make on a parent's behalf.

I've always had younger kids on my team and can only think of one time that something was discussed in the gym that wouldn't be appropriate for younger ears. Usually (in my experience) if it's appropriate practice conversation it's appropriate for all ages.
"Interesting" photos of ex coaches on Facebook are the exception, but that wasn't appropriate practice conversation either and I told my coach in private bc I knew it would give her a good laugh... Not in front of little kids.

 

[klynn64]

We found out that, yes, they are! It makes no sense. You have to have a bracer or be attached to someone else just to sneeze but you can do unassisted one mans. Ok...

The team pictured above had girls who were all the size of my cp (except the flyers) or even bigger. That was the first thing that made me take notice. Very unusual.

You know we all deal with loss in life. Cheerleading is no different. Some may even argue that loss is necessary for growth to take place. But loss when it's due to cheating is a bitter pill to swallow. When parents focus on values, dedication, hard work etc. and then undeserving individuals swoop in and take the prize, what has that taught our children ? That cheaters prevail ? I hope not. I hope it shows our children why you should never be willing to lower yourself to their level and treat others in that manner. It's tough for kids to digest when the cheaters are the ones walking away with the banner, jacket, and claim to fame. In that moment all kids see is the injustice because they've been taught that to be honest is the right thing yet dishonesty just walked out the door with their jacket.

 

[quitthedrama]

You know we all deal with loss in life. Cheerleading is no different. Some may even argue that loss is necessary for growth to take place. But loss when it's due to cheating is a bitter pill to swallow. When parents focus on values, dedication, hard work etc. and then undeserving individuals swoop in and take the prize, what has that taught our children ? That cheaters prevail ? I hope not. I hope it shows our children why you should never be willing to lower yourself to their level and treat others in that manner. It's tough for kids to digest when the cheaters are the ones walking away with the banner, jacket, and claim to fame. In that moment all kids see is the injustice because they've been taught that to be honest is the right thing yet dishonesty just walked out the door with their jacket.

But it's not cheating. No one seems to care about crossovers and sandbagging but parents and we all know our opinion is worthless. And nearly every gym does it in some shape or form (my CPs' included).

"You are only responsible for being honest, not for someone else's reaction to your honesty."

 

[Cheermom1969]

You know we all deal with loss in life. Cheerleading is no different. Some may even argue that loss is necessary for growth to take place. But loss when it's due to cheating is a bitter pill to swallow. When parents focus on values, dedication, hard work etc. and then undeserving individuals swoop in and take the prize, what has that taught our children ? That cheaters prevail ? I hope not. I hope it shows our children why you should never be willing to lower yourself to their level and treat others in that manner. It's tough for kids to digest when the cheaters are the ones walking away with the banner, jacket, and claim to fame. In that moment all kids see is the injustice because they've been taught that to be honest is the right thing yet dishonesty just walked out the door with their jacket.

Bingo. As much as this may sound like I'm full of it, I actually was ok with losing. It was time my daughter had that taste in her mouth. But then as I'm finding out the team we lost to potentially was stacked, that just makes me fume. You're right, what does that teach my daughter? Cheaters DO prosper?

I guess the new lesson is, knowing you did the right thing, you did something the right way, is better than knowing you cheated to get what you want. That's a valuable lesson too.

 

[cupieqt]

But it's not cheating. No one seems to care about crossovers and sandbagging but parents and we all know our opinion is worthless. And nearly every gym does it in some shape or form (my CPs' included).

"You are only responsible for being honest, not for someone else's reaction to your honesty."

I care. But I've just come to accept that it's one of those things that, since it can't be regulated without hurting everyone, it's not going anywhere.

This weekend, my teams will go against another local gym who is notorious for it. They recently added all of the school and rec cheerleaders that just finished up their season and couldn't compete all star to their teams bringing them from teams of 15 and 20 to teams of 28 and 32. We shall see how it washes out but I know that when we beat them at the last comp they "vowed" to do this and come back to beat us with bigger and better teams.

I can't do anything about that. So I just look at my own kids and see what we need to do to be better. It's not going away. So it just is what it is. If it works for them then that's something we will have to remember and try to adjust for in the future if we can.

But I refuse to stoop. I'd rather be beaten than be cheatin'


ETA: I don't add kids to my teams during the season unless they're replacing someone or filling a vital role on the team. I don't allow my teams to have a "revolving door roster". This has all but eliminated kids quitting our program and it has definitely lowered everyone's frustration at having to rework routines to add in new people every few weeks/months. I also refuse to offer special deals to people just so they'll come join the team now. Why would I do that to the people that have been with me all season? That doesn't seem fair at all. Where is their "special deal"?

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[klynn64]

I care. But I've just come to accept that it's one of those things that, since it can't be regulated without hurting everyone, it's not going anywhere.

This weekend, my teams will go against another local gym who is notorious for it. They recently added all of the school and rec cheerleaders that just finished up their season and couldn't compete all star to their teams bringing them from teams of 15 and 20 to teams of 28 and 32. We shall see how it washes out but I know that when we beat them at the last comp they "vowed" to do this and come back to beat us with bigger and better teams.

I can't do anything about that. So I just look at my own kids and see what we need to do to be better. It's not going away. So it just is what it is. If it works for them then that's something we will have to remember and try to adjust for in the future if we can.

But I refuse to stoop. I'd rather be beaten than be cheatin'


ETA: I don't add kids to my teams during the season unless they're replacing someone or filling a vital role on the team. I don't allow my teams to have a "revolving door roster". This has all but eliminated kids quitting our program and it has definitely lowered everyone's frustration at having to rework routines to add in new people every few weeks/months. I also refuse to offer special deals to people just so they'll come join the team now. Why would I do that to the people that have been with me all season? That doesn't seem fair at all. Where is their "special deal"?

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The wins may be few but they are so sweet. That's because you won honestly and also proved that cheaters don't always prevail.

 

[cupieqt]

The wins may be few but they are so sweet. That's because you won honestly and also proved that cheaters don't always prevail.

Exactly. I never feel guilty about a win because I know we won fair and square.


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[tumbleyoda]

Do you say that because you don't think parents would actually do that or you don't think parents have enough "power" to do that?

Because parents wouldn't stand for it like they would of back then. There is way more available info and resources at hand that they can easily find things out without being classified as a stalker or "that cheer mom." The amount of power that they have over a program is way more than it used to be. If used wisely and sparingly it can be a great thing.

 

[quitthedrama]

I care. But I've just come to accept that it's one of those things that, since it can't be regulated without hurting everyone, it's not going anywhere.

This weekend, my teams will go against another local gym who is notorious for it. They recently added all of the school and rec cheerleaders that just finished up their season and couldn't compete all star to their teams bringing them from teams of 15 and 20 to teams of 28 and 32. We shall see how it washes out but I know that when we beat them at the last comp they "vowed" to do this and come back to beat us with bigger and better teams.

I can't do anything about that. So I just look at my own kids and see what we need to do to be better. It's not going away. So it just is what it is. If it works for them then that's something we will have to remember and try to adjust for in the future if we can.

But I refuse to stoop. I'd rather be beaten than be cheatin'


ETA: I don't add kids to my teams during the season unless they're replacing someone or filling a vital role on the team. I don't allow my teams to have a "revolving door roster". This has all but eliminated kids quitting our program and it has definitely lowered everyone's frustration at having to rework routines to add in new people every few weeks/months. I also refuse to offer special deals to people just so they'll come join the team now. Why would I do that to the people that have been with me all season? That doesn't seem fair at all. Where is their "special deal"?

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You as always, are the exception to the rule. Our industry needs more of you!

 

[MzLyn23]

YES.

Especially the ones who just figured out what Beyonce meant when she said "surfboardt" and could not wait to tell everyone!

OMG am I missing something or am I TOO old... what does Beyonce mean by Surfboard?? That wasn't like real surfboarding?!?! OMG never mind don't answer I'm traumatized and sad about my age.... :(